[Advaita-l] Question/Clarification on Chanting Vaidika mantras

[Raghav Kumar Dwivedula]

Namaste Rama ji
 Thank you for your inputs. You have researched this topic deeply and I am
taking the liberty of asking a few doubts on chanting.

Regarding meaning being changed by change in svara - I have a doubt. Are
there other examples other than the stock example of indrashatrurvardhate?

I remember being told that the above indrashatru logic is extendable to
other cases of a word being interpreted either as a bahuvrIhi or tatpuruSha
based on accents. Based on pANinIya shikShA? But don't recollect the
details.

Also are there any details in shikShA about what other places a svara
change effects a meaning change?

And the other side of the question - and I can see that this is slippery
slope so will not press the point- where the svara change does not effect a
meaning change (are there any rules to assert this ?)- what are we to make
of such (unchaste) chanting. Will it still be efficacious ?

One last question - its a common practice (I do so quite often) to chant a
few assorted suktas after the morning sandhya . Such chanting has
discernible dRShTa phala in the form of cittanaiscalyam. My question is  -
since there is no particular vidhi from a brAhmaNa being followed in such
chanting (afaik), is there any adRShTa at all which accrues from such
chanting after sandhya or on some other occasions like say on a visit to a
temple?

One last question - if a mistake occurs while chanting a line from a sUkta,
can it be corrected by 're-chanting' that particular line or phrase or is
the chanting thereby irretrievably blemished.


Om
Raghav





On 01-Nov-2017 3:42 PM, "Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan via Advaita-l" <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> People have been quoting from the ChAndogya bhAShya, etc., which I have in
> fact quoted decades prior on this list. I am aware of all these references
> and more. I reiterate - knowing meanings is next to irrelevant for most
> people. Unless the correct procedure is known or the Veda is chanted
> perfectly, thinking about the meaning, etc., is just completely useless. In
> real life I see out of a 1000 who chant, may be a handful chanting
> properly. This is even in India unless it’s a congregation of paNDitas. But
> 100% are ready to bloviate with references from Upanishads, bhAShas, inner
> meanings and what have you.
>
> On Mon, Oct 30, 2017 at 10:32 AM S Jayanarayanan via Advaita-l <
> advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:
>
> >  Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan rama.balasubramanian at gmail.com wrote:
> >
> > > This is from the pANinIya shikShA and repeated in many other
> shikShA-s. A
> > > commentary I have read on one of the other shikShA-s (forget which one
> > now,
> > > might be the vyAsa) is perceptive. He says that the artha here refers
> to
> > > the accents, udAtta, anudAtta, etc., since these are crucial to the
> > > meaning. Understanding the actual meaning is secondary.
> > >
> >
> > Yes, so far as the effect of performing a ritual is concerned, knowing
> the
> > meaning
> > of Mantras is certainly secondary to chanting accurately.
> >
> > > In fact, understanding the meanings in Vedic mantra-s is secondary to
> the
> > > point of almost irrelevance. Correct chanting is paramount.
> > >
> >
> > That's taking it to the "extreme" level! Knowing the meanings of Mantras
> is
> > very good. One should add that knowing the *correct* meaning - not just
> > the literal
> > meaning - is excellent.
> >
> > Besides, the Veda doesn't consist of Mantras alone, but also Vidhis
> > (Brahmanas).
> > One can ask the question: "Which is more important - Mantras or
> > Vidhis/Brahmanas?"
> > Of course, the answer is that both are equally important, but some would
> > say
> > that the balance is 51-49 in favor of the Vidhis, since even to know
> which
> > Mantra
> > to recite comes from the Vidhis. Hence knowing the meanings of the Vidhis
> > is the
> > foundation of Dharma
>
>
> No. As per the mImAmsA shAstra, vidhi is like 99%. As a matter of fact, the
> true meaning of the mantra can be gained only from the vidhi. The mantras
> are ALMOST irrelevant.
>
> Rama
>
>
>
> > > Rama
> > >
> >
> > http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/cgi-bin/listinfo/advaita-l
> >
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> > listmaster at advaita-vedanta.org
> >
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